Haven
by AlbtraumDerAngst
Summary: Normally when our world intertwines with the other the repercussions are minor at worst. Sometimes they can be catastrophic for one or both worlds involved. Then there's the even rarer cases, where only a couple of lives get mixed up together and are forced to accept the circumstances as they are. The question is, was this by random chance, or did something divine orchestrate this?
1. Prologue

Two worlds exist comfortably beside one another. The former is the world of mortality, with pain and woes, but also comfort and love. The second world belonged to the bizarre, the otherworldly, a realm of Gods one could say. Residents of that world would beg to differ, to them they are just beings like the mortals.

Normally, worlds never cross paths. The coexist in harmony, and never interfere with the ways of the other. Of course, nothing is perfect, and occasionally one world bleeds into another's space. It's unintentional, of pure coincidence, and still yet it occurs. This is what gives rise supernatural phenomena in their world. An odd creature in the corner of your eye, a light in the sky that cannot be explained, they are all glimpses of the two worlds tangling together.

This day was nothing unique, at least not for this city. It was a Tuesday morning, another ordinary day. A grad student was on his way among many others to get to the 8 AM lecture of their discipline. It was a brisk morning, scarves were donned and several hands clasped a cup of coffee to jump start their day. Not the the blond lost in the crowd due to his height, his hands could only hold a book that his eyes stayed focused on.

Certainly a freshman or sophomore would trip and stumble if they were to try to read half as intently as he was, but after attending the same university and living in the same apartment for six years he could maneuver through it all without missing a word. Gerwald was a man of many talents, but only talents that he would find useful.

With ease he made the large step onto the sidewalk that spanned the bridge leading into campus. Students were conversing with each other about homework, their classes, parties they recently attended, all the while they paid him no mind. Gerwald was reviewing material for a test, and it was a silent rule that you do your best to not disturb a student while studying no matter the location or time.

Without warning, however, Gerwald collided with a solid surface and fell landing his behind harshly on the concrete. He whelped in confusion and pain as he squinted, eyes jarred from the impact. Looking up through blurred vision he could detect a pale face with a shock of...green hair? Wearing a brightly colored kimono? Gerry had seen many odd things during his study abroad in Japan, but this had to take the rank of weirdest.

Before he could reach for his glasses, a pair of hands pushed them onto his face. Blinking to readjust his vision he looked up to see what was just another Japanese man in a suit, as one would see during this hour. He chalked up his initial impression to being dazed by his fall and thought nothing more of it.

The man reached a hand out to help him, unusual for an obviously employed person during the rush hour but he wasn't going to complain. He took the man's generous hand and offered his own apologies.

"I'm sorry about that sir, usually I don't bump into people like that," Gerry spoke with a tinge of red on his cheeks from embarrassment. The man just smiled and waved a hand in dismissal.

"Think nothing of it. It looks like you were studying hard, don't be late for my sake!" With a final nod, the man stepped around him and went on his way as he melded into the crowd.

Gerwald picked his book up off the ground and searched for his page that he'd been at while reading. He took a few paces before he looked up detecting something odd in his vicinity. All of the people that had just been on the bridge with him were gone, not ahead or behind him off the bridge either. Closing his book shut, he continued to walk forward as panic seized his heart.

Then that was it, consciousness lost. Darkness overcame him as he fainted, plummeting to the concrete once more. A lone man approached his limp body, tutting to himself as he leaned down to inspect him. Tilting his cold face to the side, he noticed a sizeable scrape that was dripping blood. Patting his face with the edge of his kimono, he picked up the blond boy and tossed him over his shoulder taking care to pick up his book as well. Wordlessly he turned towards the direction he came from and wandered away.


	2. Arrival

A/N: Apologies for the broken original version of this, a kindly reader alerted me about it. So for those of you waiting for this, here's the real first chapter!

* * *

When Gerry's body began to regain sensation, the first thing he was aware of was the stinging on his face. Eyes still closed his hand reached up to touch it, only to be met with a cotton bandage taped in place. What did he get up to yesterday? His hand swung to the side to reach for his cellphone on the nightstand, but it was just met with a hardwood surface. Something was out of place.

His eyelids peeled open and once his vision cleared he was greeted with unfamiliarity. This were not the sterile white ceiling he woke up to every morning, but it also wasn't any place he had seen before either. Nowhere he knew of had a wooden roof, it wasn't a common thing people could afford around where he lived. Using index finger and thumb to rub his eyes he slowly leaned up and at the same time swung his legs outward to the side of the bed.

Except instead he just slammed his heels against the floor. Why was he sleeping on the floor, and how was it that comfortable? Gerry's body wouldn't let him sleep just anywhere, if it the firmness to softness ratio wasn't just right he would toss and turn for hours at night. Taking a glance behind he saw that he'd been sleeping on what appeared to be a futon, and a very luxurious one at that.

All right, now it was just getting bizarre. Was one of his roommates playing a strange, elaborate prank on him? Looking down at his clothes he saw they weren't even his, though he wouldn't mind given it was a silk robe with a vibrant floral pattern. It felt nice against his skin, but he was too concerned about his whereabouts to think of such things.

Continuing to look around he noticed that other than the lavish bed it was fairly empty. A table sat against the wall with numerous potted flowers on it and a kotatsu, but other than that it was plain. Gerry scratched his head before standing up, still sore from whatever went along with injuring his face. Turning on his heels he meandered over to the door, which was a traditional sliding door he noticed, and moved to open it. Just as he did, however it started to shift from the other side.

Not prepared to meet whoever it was on the other side, Gerry stumbled backwards in a hurry and ended up falling onto the futon that helped cushion the blow, unfortunately he still winced from pain seeing as there was a lot of falling in his life lately. Why couldn't it be a normal bed he could hide underneath?

His panicked expression then met with a plump middle-aged woman whose smile could melt the coldest of hearts. She gasped in surprise when she saw that not only was Gerry awake, but staring at her like a cornered rat.

"Oh deary me, you're awake! I'm sorry to have startled you, I assumed with that goose egg you've got you'd have been out for a while." She explained kindly as she came into the room carrying a cloth bag.

"Goose egg, what are you talk-," as he spoke Gerry reached a hand up to rub the other side of his head only to wince at the touch. "Oh, that one." He muttered.

"Let me tend to your bandage, my name is Kushi by the way," she mentioned to him sweetly as she delicately peeled the current bandage off his face and began patting the area down with a wet rag.

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Kushi, I'm Gerwald. Do you mind telling me where I am?" He inquired with impatient eyes, appreciative of her kindness but not fond of the mystery.

"The master of the house brought you here, you were out cold and we didn't know where your home was. This is Master Yamamoto's estate," she answered him happily as she hummed along to her work.

Like that was much help, he didn't know any Yamamoto's, especially not any rich enough to afford a place like this. He resorted to being quiet while she finished placing a new bandage on his face.

"If you ask nicely, Master Yamamoto would probably let you live here too. That is if you don't have a home to go to," she broke the silence while tying up her bag of medical supplies.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Surely Gerry didn't hear her correctly, because if he did then this woman was as off her rocker as he was beginning to suspect.

The woman stood up without a word and bowed politely after she did so. As she approached the door she paused as if to say something. She must have changed her mind as she shook her head to herself and made to open the door.

"Feel free to leave this room, I believe someone is preparing breakfast right now. The Master is out but he should be home before long." Then she nodded, more to herself than to Gerry most likely and left him alone.

Nice lady or not, that whole encounter was just strange. Who just tells someone they should try to live in a strange home? And since when was indentured servitude in popular practice? Gerry got more questions than answers from speaking from the old lady, and frankly at this point he was just irritated.

When you see an injured person, you should take them to a hospital! Or at the very least call an ambulance. As these thoughts bombarded his mind, it also begged to wonder, how did he get injured in the first place? Most importantly, did he make it to his test yesterday? Assuming he'd only been asleep for a day, how was he to know?

Hurriedly he stood up and marched to the door, slid it open, and stepped out into the hallway. He nearly slipped when his socked feet touched on the smooth hardwood, but managed to regain his composure. Gerry had had his fill of falling for a lifetime. He used his nose to lead himself to an occupied kitchen.

An older gentleman kneeled on one of the mats around a very long table in the adjacent room the kitchen opened to. A younger male who looked just a bit older that Gerry himself stood next to a hearth that held a pot of rice porridge, and place around it were skewered fish. At the same time as himself a young woman and child came and kneeled at the table as well. She was the first to see him completely gawking in the doorway, and in hindsight he probably seemed rather rude.

"Oh! Our guest has awoken!" Her loud, optimistic voice startled Gerry, and before he had time to calm down he had three more sets of eyes upon him with varying levels of enthusiasm. The old mad offered a brief glance before going back to his porridge and reading what looked liked a piece of parchment. The child hid behind the young woman, occasionally offering nervous peeks at him before hiding himself again when they would make eye contact. The man over the cooking, however, just looked at him with pure disdain. It was so chilling in fact that it sent a shiver up his spine.

Despite all the reactions the girl rushed to stand up and walk over to him and clasp one of his hands to start dragging him towards the table. Unable to fight anything with the man staring at him, Gerry just obliged the woman and kneeled on the mat beside her. It was a much more uncomfortable act than one would assume, for him anyway.

"Welcome to our home, honored guest! I'm Ami, and this little one behind me is Yui," as she introduced the child Yui waved a little bit at Gerry, and he offered her a small smile in return. "What's your name? If that's okay for me to ask, sorry was that rude of me?" She tripped and faltered over her words, but her offer seemed much more endearing than Kushi from before.

"I'm Gerwald, and no it's fine!" He held his hands up in a soothing gesture, not wanting to do anything that might upset this kind girl that's approached him. In his day to day life he never met people this kind, hell his family wasn't even this considerate.

"So, em, Ami right? Can you tell me where it is I am exactly?" Hopefully Ami would be less cryptic than vague hinting old lady was. As he asked this question the man walked over with several bowls of porridge. One for the two girls, Gerry, and the man himself. He took his further down the table resorted to eating in lone silence.

"This is Lord Yamamoto's estate, isn't it such a lovely home? Yui and I have been living here for a couple of years now and I swear I find a new room at least once a week!" She was quite the chatty person, and while he did enjoy her exuberance she was still no more help than before. Did these people also not know where they were, was everyone here a prisoner of this crazy Yamamoto they all spoke of? They spoke of his name with honorifics, but how truthful was it?

"Sorry I missed breakfast this morning everyone, I had some things to att-oh! You're awake now!" Gerry turned to see the person behind the voice, wondering who else was living in this house and was shocked to see he could be awake.

Oh! He knew this man, this was the guy he bumped into on the bridge yesterday. He was wearing the same suit and still had the same smile on his face. Just as Gerry's face was about to twist up to demand to understand his whereabouts, he saw all of the people around him bowing their heads to the floor.

"Welcome home, Lord Yamamoto!" Everyone chimed in together, and as they did Gerry's jaw dropped a little. This guy, not much older than him, was the lord of an estate? Though after this morning, nothing should surprise him anymore.


	3. Truth

"Now everyone, we talked about this. Lord Yamamoto was my father. I'm just Takeru." He spoke kindly, warm smile still gracing his features. Slowly each of the four stopped bowing and returned to their food. However the most vocal of the bunch didn't seem as content as the others.

"You've done so much for us Lor- Takeru, and we just want you to have the respect you deserve for what you've done." Ami's voice cracked a bit as she said this, and this got Gerry's mind to wondering just what this man could possibly have done for all of these people. For one thing, this Takeru kidnapped him! Were they all brainwashed as children and raised to worship him or something?

Takeru didn't say anything else towards Ami, merely nodding his head with a small chuckle. Instead he focused his gaze on the only blond in the room, whose features and proportions stuck out amongst everyone else in the room. Gerry returned his look with his own that was very startled, but turned sour very quickly.

"Yeeees," Takeru dragged the word as his fingers nervously intertwined, "I owe you quite a bit of explanation don't I? Come, I'll answer your questions in the tea room." Takeru strided past him standing at a doorway and glanced back at him expectantly with a come hither motion. Resolute to find his answers, and not feeling that worried following such a small man, he stood up after apologizing for not finishing his food and followed after Takeru.

They walked in silence, most likely content to just air out their issues in private since it seemed like there were probably dozens more people here than he had already even saw. Even the ones he'd already met, Gerry wasn't sure he'd want them listening on anything considered private. Takeru stopped at a door and slid it open, standing aside to let Gerry step in first.

The owner of the home closed and latched the door before turning to kneel at the small tea table in the center of the room. He gestured for Gerry to do the same, and he was not at all looking forward to kneeling again after having just gotten to stretch his legs from the last time.

"Don't inconvenience yourself for my sake, sit how you find comfortable." Takeru spoke without even looking at his expression as he lifted the lid off a box that sat in the middle of of the table. It held what looked to be tea cups and tea leaves. "Tea?"

"Oh, yes, thank you." Gerry answered as he kneeled properly anyway, not wanting to relax his composure while he still didn't understand the weight of his circumstances. He would also be careful to watch how he prepared the tea as well.

Takeru took two tea cups and filled each with the same combination of leaves from the box. Next to the table was a small ceramic stove that had been heating a kettle, probably done by one of the house residents, that he picked up and poured the boiling water into each of the cups.

"So what would you like to ask me?" Takeru interlaced his fingers and rested them on the table as he peered into Gerry's eyes patiently. Gerry had waited for someone to finally answer his questions legitimately, but under the other's gaze his frustration and focus melted away a bit.

"I just… I would like to know where I am, and why you brought me here instead of a hospital like I would think most others would do." Instead of sounding angry, he just sounded confused and worried, which after calming down he realized those were his true emotions all this time despite what he told himself.

"To put things the best way I can, I saw you passed out on the bridge and I didn't really know what else to do for you so I brought you to the closest safe place I could which is my home. By the time emergency responders would have gotten there things might have been worse, given I wasn't certain if you had a concussion or not." As he explained his story he wrapped his fingers around his cup, not to drink it, but just for something for his fingers to hold on to at the moment.

Gerry wanted to trust those words, given the mouth that spoke them could have told him he was going to sprout a second head and he would have wanted to believe in him. The air about him was so trustworthy, and to be frank it almost made the blond uncomfortable.

"Right, well, I'm okay now so I guess I can forgive all of that," he almost wanted to say better than okay given that he'd not slept that well in months but he refrained. "So where's the nearest bus stop? Since this is close to the bridge that leads into campus we must still be in Minato." Hell at this point he didn't need a bus, he just wanted to get out of this weird place and try to catch back up on whatever he'd missed in class during all of this debacle.

Takeru's eyes shifted to the side, and that's when Gerry knew in his gut that he wouldn't be going home today. He hoped otherwise, but he could just tell that that was the news coming for him. Gerry sat still, not budging an inch until he knew the truth.

"That's where the complication comes in. There are no buses here, and you could walk yourself ragged but never reach your home." Takeru replied with a solemn expression, averting his gaze in shame hinting that he was guilty for whatever he was trying to explain.

"How off grid do you live? You can't just keep me here, I have school to attend! And for that matter, I don't know you or any of these people." Gerry betrayed his composure by elevating his voice and furrowing his grown, hand slamming down on the table. Takeru's eyes bulged momentarily before returning to his neutral expression.

"Believe me, my biggest concern right now is to see you home, but it's not that simple. Have you ever heard of the Layer in Between?" He inquired of Gerry with a serious expression, but Gerry just squinted at him with a doubtful one in return.

"Ehm, no? Look, sir, I don't know what you're on but I have a _life_ to get back to, and I'm certainly not spending it here twiddling my thumbs for the rest of my days." He announced with a snarl in the back of his throat.

"If you go outside as it is, you'll be killed faster that I could do anything about it," Takeru stated matter-of-factly as he picked up his tea to sip.

If this was some kind of joke, Gerry was not amused in any capacity. "Are you threatening me? I will walk home if I have to, I'm not staying with a person threatening my well being. Thanks for the help, but I'm gone." Gerry moved to stand up, but Takeru's hand shot out and held onto his wrist. Gerry gasped and tried to pull his hand out of reflex but found he was being held by a vice grip. He didn't realize the other man was so strong, and that caused his stomach to drop.

"I'm not threatening your life, I'm trying to _save_ your life. Yes, we're close to where I found you, but this isn't the Minato you know. Sometimes the two worlds overlap, and you were in the perfect spot for that overlap to occur. You walked into our world, but getting back isn't as easy." His expression is serious, and Gerry shuddered after locking eyes with him.

He wanted to shout, demand him to release him and tell him he's nuts before bolting and getting out of this place. Despite the want for that knee jerk reaction, he couldn't deny those eyes that were begging for him to believe him. Gerry's body relaxed, and after that Takeru released his wrist and returned to sitting up right.

"So I'll pretend for a moment that what you just told me isn't crazy. What is this place then? How long will I have to be here before I can go home?" Gerry's eyes pleaded for a concrete answer he could be satisfied with, even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"There are two worlds that exist alongside each other, as two opposing sides of the same coin. Just as sides of a coin, we never see one another. Except in instances that the two sides mix, something that is never intended to happen. You're on the other side of that coin, in our world." Takeru paused for a moment, staring down at the table as he allowed the words to sink into the other. "I can't tell you a when, but know it will the earliest that you can go home safely."

Gerry couldn't believe himself that he was actually accepting his words, but it didn't mean he was totally on board with the whole concept. "So what's with the whole death threat then? What's going to kill me outside as opposed to in here?" He asked after crossing his arms indignantly.

Takeru's hands met each other in his lap as he closed his eyes. "The skepticism in your voice tells me that you're not believing the gravity of my words. Very well, I'll show you the danger." He fell silent, and Gerry was half tempted to get up and bolt out the door if not for the fact he assumed Takeru could easily catch him. Nor did he want to experience this "death" on the outside so eagerly.

"There, I removed the ward around this room. Just for a moment to help it all sink in." Takeru then gestured his hand across the table to Gerry's side.

"I have no idea what sort of magic trick you're trying to play her bu- AAAAHHHHH!" Gerry let out a loud wail as his body fell backwards onto the floor. In front of his face he held up his two hands. They were turning transparent gradually by the second.

"What are you doing to me?!" The helpless blond flailed on the floor, too terrified to use his hands to help him get up.

"I've learned that when someone from your world comes to our world, your body begins to deteriorate as the world is rejecting your presence. I cast a protective ward over my home to keep you safe until you'd ingested enough of our food to prevent the deterioration. So you might want to actually drink the tea I offered you, hm?" Takeru had already stood up with the teacup in hand to walk it over to Gerry.

He had managed to lean up off the floor and eagerly drank from the cup, anything to make his hands return to normal. Takeru continued to sit near to him, replacing the ward as Gerry stared at his hands for ten minutes straight. Eventually they looked tangible enough for him to press his hands together, and never in his life had he felt so overjoyed to feel that sensation.

"Will you trust in me now?" Takeru gazed into his eyes, begging for his affirmation as if his well being depended on it entirely. Slowly, Gerry nodded his head while staring forlornly at the floor.

The master of the house picked up his two hands, to which Gerry was both startled by and happy to continue to feel sensation in his hands. His face drew even closer to the blond's until Gerry's eyes widened in surprise.

"I swear to you, on my name, I will make this right. In the meantime, you will be an honored guest in my home, Gerwald." Thankfully he was already sitting down, because from the intensity of his expression and closeness to his face Gerry's knees began to buckle and his hands were becoming sweaty. He dearly hoped there wasn't a blush on his face either.

Wait, when did he tell him his name?


	4. Reprieve

"How do I know your name? You must have forgotten telling me, mostly you're in shock right now. Why not take a relaxing bath? Your old clothes must be cleaned by now."

After the abrupt ending to their secretive meeting, Gerry was hurried out of the room to be greeted once more by Ami. Apparently she had been waiting for him upon her master's command to lead him to the bath. Despite Takeru's instances of uncertainty, it seems everything was falling into place according to his plan. Gerry wasn't sure if this was a good, or very bad thing.

Gracious that the bath water had already been heated, Gerry closed the sliding door behind him and took one of the towels off the shelf after sliding into a pair of bath slippers. Next to the stone tub was a stool where he would wash off before getting into the bath, very familiars customs given his stay in Japan.

He disrobed, folding the robe before placing it next to the tub, and poured the bucket of surprisingly warm water over his head that was sitting next to the stool. As he poured the oils into his hands and on his hair, Gerry finally felt his body begin to relax fully for the first time in a while. Some of these knots in his body had been wound up since the start of the school year and it was pleasant to finally let them unwind.

As he washed his hair, it registered in his mind how unusual for him that school wasn't even on his mind at all. He was in his final year of his masters program, now he was going to be gone for who knows long and he just couldn't bring himself to think about it. It was so unlike him, a chill ran up his spine at the thought of it.

That dip in the tub in the tub was sounding better by the second, quickly rising once more he stood up to then steep his body into the waiting water. He let out a gentle sigh as he let his body sink down into the water up to his chin. It caused his face to turn red, but despite that he was in bliss if just for a moment.

Gerry let his fingers glide through the water, remembering the moment prior when his hands disappeared before him. He still couldn't explain, how it felt, but he would do anything within his power to prevent it from happening again. Trusting Takeru still wasn't something he was certain he could do, and this whole other world stuff still sounded crazy, but when presented with something like that he would have to ignore logic for a moment. Staying grounded in reality was not as important as survival in this situation.

Abruptly he turned his head to the side at the sound of the door snapping shut. He missed catching a glimpse at whoever had been there, and sunk deeper into the water in both nervousness and embarrassment if someone saw him in the bath. After several minutes of stillness, he realized no one was actually in there and he had only heard them leaving. Despite the warmth of the water he felt a shiver up his spine at the idea of someone watching him while he wasn't aware. Letting his vision drop down he saw on a shelf saw a fresh set of clothes.

Hopping out of the tub, stark naked and immediately regretting the decision once the cold air touched his skin, he noticed it was in fact two sets of clothes. One was the outfit he'd last remembered wearing before waking up here but now freshly cleaned. The other was a kimono very similar to the one Takeru had been wearing but with a green and white pattern that resembled his other attire. Not eager to wear such an outfit in a place he wasn't certain about he dried off and donned his normal clothes.

It gave him a boost to his confidence to have at least this one layer of familiarity about his person, and resolved to leave the kimono on the shelf and leave the bathroom after putting on a pair of socks. As soon as as he was out, there she was again. Ami stood there patiently with a smile on her face, and Gerry returned his own half-heartedly after her presence startled him.

"Um, is there something else you're going to lead me to?" Gerry inquired, uncertain if he should trust this overly friendly girl who had yet to leave his side.

She shook her head before looking up at him in the eyes so intently. "Nope! I just don't want you to feel lonely. Everybody in the estate has found their social group here, and I want to find where you belong! It shouldn't take very long, it looks like you're already Master Takeru's best friend!" Ami stated this loudly with bouncy excitement.

Gerry's brows furrowed and he took a couple of steps back, since for one she was really breaching his personal boundary, and secondly she just said what now? "I think you're a little confused, em, Ami. I'd never met the man before yesterday and I'm not really all that crazy about someone that is keeping me captive in their home."

He neglected to mention the whole other world business just in case it was all a ruse, the full shock of his disappearing hand starting to wear off and allow him to think about this situation a bit more logically. Even so, he still had to believe it was true, but he wasn't just going to admit that.

Her body language was very obvious as her entire form drooped in disappointment. "Master Takeru is so happy you're here, I only assumed you two were friends…" Her voice trailed off and she sounded so sad, so much so that Gerry almost wished he hadn't said anything at all. Quickly her body perked right up again and she looked at him eagerly. "Maybe Master just wants to be friends but he doesn't know how to ask you! It's very strange for him, he's a very eloquent man who knows how to talk to people. Maybe it's because you're a human-"

Quickly she covered her mouth and something about her features altered, but he couldn't quite place what it was. "A human? What would make you say that? Has he brainwashed the people that work here as well?" Gerry asked as Ami turned around to hide her face but instead revealed something even more startling.

On her behind was a curled tail, a shiba inu tail to be specific, and it was swaying back and forth nervously. Gerry's eyes widened and he took a step back, unprepared to see something like that of all things.

"A-Ami, w-why do you have a t-t-tail?" Looking up from her rear to her head he also saw a pair of dog ears atop her head. She let out a yelp and turned around to reveal her enlarged irises to match a canine's as well as a pair of fangs poking out of the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, ah, Master must have removed the spell over the house just now, which means you know now that you're not in the human world anymore. I didn't realize he would make the change so soon." She spoke nervously, a hand reached back to scratch her head with long nails.

"What kind of monster are you?" Gerry asked before realizing what it was exactly he said. Ami instinctively shirked back at the word monster, and he continued to stand his ground though now he was worried his choice of words could endanger him.

"I'm not a monster, none of us are. I'm a Yama-inu as they would call in your world, basically a dog spirit. This is a house of spirits, and you are the human guest of our master." Her voice took a serious tone unlike any he'd heard from her before. He could sense it wasn't the first time she'd been called a monster and resented the word.

"So I'm guessing that Takeru is also a spirit?" Gerry asked but already knew the answer, merely seeking for more information. Ami nodded in response.

"Everyone here has their own story about who they are and why they're here, and it's not my right to share that with you without their knowledge. I will say that there are many spirits here that don't resemble a human as much as I do, so take that into consideration please. Some are not very friendly to those who stare." She offered him as a kind warning with still yet a kind disposition.

Gerry just had so many questions running through his mind he wanted to ask, but was nervous to say much more without shoving his foot in his mouth again. He did have one definitive question that he wanted to ask and he mustered up the ability to ask.

"Were you always a spirit Ami? Are spirits just born as they are?" He saw a sadness in her eyes as she paused with eyes looking down. It took her nearly a minute to lift her head back up to speak.

"I wasn't always who I am today, but the me of the past is gone and forgotten. Only Master knows who I was before, he was the one who brought me to this place. He saved my life." Before he could ask what he saved her from the young girl Yui ran up the hallway to Ami and clung to her clothes. Ami reached a hand around and patted the young girl's head. "He saved us all in one way or another, just as he saved you. For that we are eternally grateful."

Despite her having just told him not to stare, he looked the girl up and down to find what external features she would have now that some sort of "spell" on the house had worn off. He couldn't find a thing, which disturbed him more than Ami's ears and tail. When his eyes rose back up Yui stuck her tongue out at him for staring. His head reeled backwards in surprise and he averted his face to the side a little embarrassed.

"Think that's bad? If that'd been Yoshiro it wouldn't have been that kind." Ami informed him with a giggle behind her sleeve. Gerry returned with his own brand of nervous laughter that came out forced and awkward. He then shifted to a cough to clear his throat and stood with a thoughtful expression.

"So I'd still like to know, where are we going?" He inquired politely, careful not to glance down at Yui if he could help it.

"Up to you, sir, just think of me as your guide for your stay!" She spoke with pride as she stood up straighter with a pleasant smile. All indications of a prior serious tone were gone.

" _She really is a dog._ " Gerry couldn't help but to think to himself. "Well, since apparently outdoors are off limits for now," his voice sounding petulant as he spoke the words, "do you have anything like a library here?" He couldn't deny his curiosity of reading books on history of a world unlike his own.

"Oooh, why yes we do! They're very old however, Master has added a few new ones for pleasure reading, that's one of his hobbies you know. I can take you there if you like, it's on one of the upper floors." Before he'd agreed Ami grabbed his wrist and was jogging down the hallway with Gerry walking quickly behind her. Yui had seemingly disappeared while he wasn't paying attention, which bothered him more than it probably should have.

As he glided by he missed the glowing yellow eyes of a house occupant staring him down as he went past them.


	5. Knowledge

"It's pretty small, or at least that's what I'm told. I didn't know what a library was before coming here. I'm guessing you like to read, what sorts of books do you like?" Ami attempted conversation with Gerry as he stepped into the spacious but not overly large room. It wasn't any larger than a small town public library, but that was considerably impressive for someone to have in their own home.

"I study history at a university, and I've always had a hunger to learn more about the world. History never changes, but a different perspective on things can really alter the truth. I'm curious to know history of this world." His excitement was nigh overflowing when he arrived at the first bookshelf to find that it contained...not the first book. "Wait, seriously?" He couldn't help but mutter as his fingers trailed over a row of scrolls that were heavily dusted and yellowed with age.

Picking one up he carried it over to a nearby table and kneeled sat criss cross in front of it. Ami was keeping her distance as she looked around as well where some novel type books Takeru had brought were kept. As Gerry unfurled the scroll he sneezed and coughed several times from all the dust that floated in the air after he disturbed it. Through all his trials and tribulations he managed to get his nose and eyes clear as well as the scroll open enough to read. Finally!

Well, he'd like to be excited but he was painfully reminded of how bad his kanji was. On a good day he could read at a slow pace in hiragana, but kanji was something he didn't see as often. He picked up on a few phrases, but mostly was lost in the symbols. It didn't help that this text was older than his home country either, and he sighed in frustration for not understanding at least enough to piece something together.

He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Not only could he not go home for one reason or another, but he couldn't even take advantage of the situation to read the text of all whole other world. Pushing the scroll aside his chin rested on his crossed arms on the table. Closing his eyes made him realize just how exhausted he'd felt today, and he enjoyed the moment to breathe.

"Finding yourself at ease?" Suddenly a male voice permeated his serenity and his brows squinted together in annoyance.

"Well I was, but that's neither here nor there. Should I be expecting hourly visits from you now?" Gerry spoke to him with his eyes still close, knowing it was Takeru but half hoping it was imagination and he could go back to peaceful silence.

"Perhaps, with your safety in mind. I had suspicion you would be in the library. You seemed like the knowledge seeking type. Were you able to read these texts?" His voice was as gentle as ever, the longer he spoke the less Gerry minded him being there.

"No, it's written like it's from before the common era and given how it looks I wouldn't doubt that. Are you just a collector of antiques or something?" He thought about opening his eyes, but it had occurred to him that Takeru was not human just like Ami and there was no telling what he looked like. To spare himself the grief of learning what kind of monster was housing him, he was just going to keep his eyes shut.

"Not particularly, this house belonged to my father and I inherited all the belongings within it. It's been with our family for many generations. And for your information, it's from the third century." Takeru spoke matter-of-factly with a lilt to his voice, it was obvious he was enjoying the interaction.

"If you know so much about it, why don't you tell me what it's about." Gerry replied grumpily. The sound of the scroll being adjusted on the table made him perk up for a moment, eager to learn something.

"Well let's see, it's the account from a noble during the Kofun period. Details some of his negotiations with the current emperor of the time from the Yamato dynasty to fall under his authority during the rush to conquer the entirety of Japan." Takeru read in a stately manner and as he did Gerry twisted his mouth in confusion and furrowed his brows once more.

"Why do you have ancient texts related to ancient Japanese history? Not to mention how valuable these would be to any museum or university, but I just assumed you would have history books related to your world. What gives, _Takeru_?" He spoke his name with derision, mostly out of irritation and less so of dislike.

"Our worlds aren't as different as you may think, Gerwald." Takeru retorted with what Gerry could imagine as a sagely expression.

"That's not a real answer, and please stop calling me that you sound like my professors. If I'm going to be here for a while, call me Gerry. Make this bearable for me in some capacity." His head turned so he was facing the side, allowing his eyes to open when he was no longer facing Takeru's direction.

"Gerry, Gerry, yes that is much more pleasant to the tongue. As for your answer, some have to be discovered on your own." He'd come to realize that asking Takeru anything was asking to receive more questions than answers, and he wondered why he was even continuing to bother with it.

"What _are_ you willing to tell me then? Maybe it'll be less frustrating on my end if you just come right out and tell me what you will talk about." Gerry's voice grew tired, his body craving for him to just go back to having his eyes closed.

"I can tell you anything about this house you wish to know, some about my life, and a few things about the people that live here. I'll also try to keep you up to date if I find out anything on how to send you home, don't worry about that." Takeru tried to reassure him, but that was not where his uncertainty lie in this moment.

Gerry let out a single, solemn sigh. "What's out there that wants to kill me? Or you say wants to kill me." He could hear the man across the table shift in place in discomfort from the topic, perhaps that meant he didn't have a prepared response for that?

"There are governing forces in this world that protect it from those that might violate the order of things. One of the core laws is that living humans are not allowed in this world, and depending on what you know and what you've done they'll kill you without question. You are innocent in all this but to them there is no innocence, by the act of doing it you admit to your own guilt. I oppose this totalitarian methodology, but I also wish to protect you." His fingers interlocked and tightened until his already pale hands turned even more white.

"That's...rather harsh," Gerry stated bluntly with no witty retort to offer.

"Yes, but don't worry, for the mean time you're safe in my home. We're hidden deep in a forest in the mountains, and no one passes through here to detect something off," Takeru paused for a moment before shattering the silence once more. "Any other burning questions on the tip of your tongue?"

He didn't want to acknowledge it, but when Takeru said that there was a playful lilt to his voice that sent a chill up his spine. Instantly he was repulsed by the instinctive reaction and tried to push it out of his mind.

"I think one more question and I can be satisfied. For now, anyway. What have you done to garner so much adoration from these peo- these spirits living here? It's beyond a servant and master relationship, they all look at you as if you were royalty," Gerry grumbled out.

Something tapped on the tabletop, the noise was reminiscent of a woman with long manicured nails rapping them against a hard surface. He twitched at the idea of what that meant. "I took them in when they needed somewhere to go, you're not the first fortunate soul to benefit from this extension of kindness. Before you ask, no they're not captive here as well, no one is out to kill spirits in this world. However, the lives they led before now are not the sort one would want to return to. At least I wouldn't hope."

Gerry's brows knitted, he'd suspected as much. Given Ami had said just as much, he was fairly certain he wasn't lying to him provided they weren't all brainwashed. If they were however, he was certain he wouldn't allowed to be as sane as his current self was.

"What makes you want to be everybody's savior so bad? Are you racking up favors to cash in on? Assembling an army for whatever cause you've aligned yourself with?" He inquired with a frustrated voice.

Takeru inhaled a shaky breath. Gerry's own body had tensed for fear he'd angered the other. He had no way to know if the other was the type lash out in anger.

"Such a deplorable life you humans must lead. Must it always be one thing for another? Is mortality where compassion goes to die?" The volume of his words escalated which caused Gerry to jump slightly.

Silence filled the space between them until he heard Takeru sigh. The awkwardness of the situation was almost unbearable.

"Look at me, Gerwald. If you must despise me, at least know the real me," said Takeru in a serious tone that was not to be trifled with.

Gerry's throat tightened and he struggled to breathe. Instinctive fear seized his heart, but he could not determine the source.

He sat upright and turned his head forward with eyes closed. Deep breaths were helping to keep him stabilized in this moment. Yet he still couldn't bring himself to open his eyes.

"Open your eyes. Condemn my actions not with the voice of a boy, but with the eyes of a man," gently spoke Takeru. His voice had calmed back down to his normal tone.

Gerry's nose crinkled at the suggestion that he behaved cowardly. Perhaps he had been regarding Takeru with a level of scrutiny that hadn't been warranted, but he did only have him to blame for his predicament. He sighed.

Cautiously his eyes peeled open, entirely prepared to reel back in horror. At first all he could see were familiar, vibrant colors of an elaborate kimono. With more visibility he saw pale skin, paler than before, and longer dark hair that was tinged green. Opening his eyes completely, he realized that Takeru was much taller than he was prior, now at a height greater than his own.

His face was angular, powerful, but softened through years of kindness and care. Gerry noticed Takeru even had a smile for him as well, and he found himself blushing in response to this.

Takeru waved a hand over himself, the smile now reaching up to his eyes. "See? Not so bad now was it after all?"

Instantly Gerry's eyes were upon his hands and that's where the similarities ended. Each of his fingers ended with long, bright red nails that could probably slice him apart. Instinctively his hand reached up to his throat and wrapped around it protectively. Despite that reaction, Takeru didn't shirk away from him. Instead he actually allowed something behind his back that he'd been hiding appear.

At this Gerry's eyes widened, to see the man before him with large feathery wings was startling to say the least.

"You look like an angel," Gerry managed to speak while his eyes remained locked on his wings.

"So we've moved to sweet talking then, have we?" Takeru spoke with a wink.

"You know what I mean, you have wings. No halo though, so not completely. I don't think my world has any myth that resembles how you look," he said with more composure than he expected to have in this moment.

"Unsurprising, humans were never keen on picking up the finer details of what they catch through the veil. Things are often embellished and sound more terrifying than they ever really were. Ami's an inugami, which humans liken to ferocious canid beasts. I imagine you find her quite unlike that," he explained with a gentle smile.

"Inugami are also kami, evil or not. Or is that also a farce?" Gerry was well aware of the cruel circumstances that were told to create an inugami, and more than anything he hoped that was not the case here.

"To a degree it is, but I won't say much more on the matter. We respect the privacy of each resident, if they want their story told then they will tell it," he paused. "Now, will that that suffice for today Gerwald? My legs are growing stiff."

Gerry nodded, though yet he had many more questions about this world and especially about Takeru. It seemed he would be here for a while yet, so he would with hold for now. Takeru nodded as well and stood from his resting place. As he walked past Gerry didn't fail to notice that his feet was no longer human either, instead replaced with the talons of a bird.

Rather than say anything, he elected instead to return to the bookshelves and read the ancient texts contained there. Surely if he could decipher something he could learn more about where he was and the Yamamoto family.


End file.
